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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Unlocking Your Brilliance by Karen D. Purcell

Unlocking Your Brilliance
Smart Strategies for Women to Thrive in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Being a female myself, I have to say I never really had any hurdles, any
issues to deal with because I am a girl/woman. Although I do know these
hurdles do indeed exist, and I have 2 daughters that I would hope never
have to go through what I see and hear others go through, especially
those who are seeking careers in male dominated fields.
I think this
is a book that should be handed out at every graduation, to every woman,
maybe even the males. Karen Purcell offers some of the most important
and most wonderful advice for anybody to succeed in life. She goes into
great detail, explaining in a simple to understand way, how to achieve
what you want in life, and how to grab a hold of your dreams and thrive.
The
fact that she wrote this book to help others, and share her own story
of inspiration, makes this book extremely valuable and a book that will
be opened up for many days, months and years to come. There really is
something in there for everybody.
This book relates to most of us,
and can help you gain more knowledge of what you desire, and want in
order to become the person you want to be. Whether you are in any of the
fields Karen discusses,(STEM), or not, she explains what you must do in
order to get there.
STEM is, science, technology, engineering and math. and just like the title states, "Smart Strategies for Women to Thrive..."
I
especially liked how the author uses her own story, and how she got
interested in sharing her story, and the fact that males actually
persuaded her to write this, is another positive to mention here. It
shows the author has had some positive role models, and friends, from
both sexes, and that alone gives hope for females who are struggling in
the workplace and in college.
It really made me think, and more so
since I have daughters, but the part where she discusses how college
admissions can be when you are a male, entering these fields, (or any
other more thought, "male dominated" career), really hits home. Again, I
have never personally been in this type of situation, well actually now
that I think about it, I have. But not to this degree, and as quick as
that situation came about, it was knocked right down.
I forgot for a
moment about the time I started bartending about 21 years ago, and a
friend of the owners had a son who decided one day he would like to
bartend. So, I went in for my shift, and was told that he would be
working behind the bar and I would be waiting tables. That was rather
upsetting, not that there is anything wrong with waiting tables, but I
was on schedule to be behind the bar that night, and this kid who was
home from college break decided he was to be back there.
This went on
for a week or so, and after several complaints about his lack of
skills, and attitude problem with our customers, he was finally knocked
back down. Although he still kept his attitude and continued his
comments about how in the old days, only the men were bartenders. Well,
he wasn't the best bartender and he was certainly the slowest I have
seen. The final straw came when his own dad had to wait for awhile for a
drink while this kid stood there fixing his hair in the mirror behind
the bar.
So, actually, yes, I do recall a time when there was a
dilemma in my life/career, and unfortunately, it isn't always so easy to
prove that fast. Lucky for the 3 girls who worked there, he just
happened to be a little flaky;)
Building confidence is one of the
most important lessons we must instill in our children, girls or boys,
and this book takes it one step further.
I would recommend this book
to students, whether college or high school, any career minded or career
women, or men, (Yes, there is so much to absorb from Karen's story) and
even anybody who has a daughter or 2 of their own.
You can read more about Karen and STEMspire on her website.STEMspire.org